New amp for legacy speakers

[MisterMoseley]

morning all
I collected my new (to me), recapped, rewired, Celestion 44s earlier this week and have already been lucky enough to find a new home for my 15XRs.
I realise that I haven’t been listening to them for very long, but already my attention is now turning to the amp.
Currently I have a Rega Brio.
without really being able to justify why I want to change, I know that over the coming weeks and months there will be that overpowering and all-encompassing urge to upgrade and it won’t go away until I either;
1) sell all my hifi kit in which case the problem disappears, or,
2) do something about it
well, as I’m not keen on option 1, I sort of know where this one is headed.
With my total lack of previous experience of different amps, I would very much appreciate any pointers/thoughts/recommendations, of which I’m sure there could be many.
happy with legacy and willing to consider pros/cons of SS v tube.
Budget - more of a case of what I’d be willing to spend rather than what, in theory, I could afford if I robbed my piggy bank.
if we said max £1000 but preferably much closer to £500, where might that leave me?
Thanks all - one of these days I do hope to be able to give more back to the forum that I seem to be taking at the moment.

[walpurgis]

You may not like my answer, but I think the amp is probably not a weak link in your system.

[Macca]

I agree with Geoff, I've owned the 44s and a Brio R will have no trouble getting 100 percent out of them.

[Lawrence001]

You may not like my answer, but I think the amp is probably not a weak link in your system.So what is? If amp and speakers are well matched presumably the sources?

[MisterMoseley]

You may not like my answer, but I think the amp is probably not a weak link in your system.
Thanks Geoff.
I realise that you’ve previously given me advice on speaker selection. I’ve in no way ignored what you’ve previously said (KEFs, etc), but the 44s were just something I knew I had to try once in my life.
I’m not saying they’ll be with me for evermore and I’m sure that over the next few months, I’ll start thinking about older KEFs or some transmission lines again. It wouldn’t surprise me if, within the next 6 months or so, I have yet another pair of speakers and I move the 44s to one side (as I’ve recently done with my Castle Severns).
The issue for now is that from what you’ve said, I really don’t need to fret about amplifiers for as long as I own the 44s.
And given the condition they’re in (immaculate cabinets, recapped, & re-wired with Van Damme), I honestly believe I shouldn’t lose too much if I decide to move them on.
Thanks again
Stuart

[MisterMoseley]

I agree with Geoff, I've owned the 44s and a Brio R will have no trouble getting 100 percent out of them.

Thanks Martin.
as per my reply to Geoff, I appreciate the previous help you’ve given me and it’s good to know that for as long as I own the 44s, I really shouldn’t rush out and change the Brio.
Thanks
Stuart

[Macca]

Have you got them on stands? if not you could look at doing that. Open frame stands that get the mid-range driver up to ear height would be my suggestion.

[MisterMoseley]

Have you got them on stands? if not you could look at doing that. Open frame stands that get the mid-range driver up to ear height would be my suggestion.
Hi Martin
really good point and I’ve been looking for the last few days.
there are a pair of Tannoy TS 2s on EBay at the moment but I can find nothing about them on-line. I’m thinking that anything I buy has to be strong enough to support 20Kg but perhaps most open frame stands would do that.
I’ve also considered wooden stands.
Interesting what you’ve said about ear height. I’d always thought it was tweeter at ear height but perhaps that’s because I’ve not had a three way speaker before. This changes what I thought would be the ideal height for stands.
possibly need to experiment by propping the speakers up on a couple of chairs before taking the plunge.
Not penny pinching - just don’t want to spend only to find the stand height is wrong.
Thanks.
Stuart

[walpurgis]

If you want to experiment, you could try a couple of bargain shop step-stools. They are about nine inches tall and take a lot of weight. Just make sure they are flat topped ones, some are slightly curved. Should be just the right height and they are pretty inert, so won't vibrate. You can get them in black. Less than a tenner a pair in the right place.

[Macca]

Hi Martin
really good point and I’ve been looking for the last few days.
there are a pair of Tannoy TS 2s on EBay at the moment but I can find nothing about them on-line. I’m thinking that anything I buy has to be strong enough to support 20Kg but perhaps most open frame stands would do that.
I’ve also considered wooden stands.
Interesting what you’ve said about ear height. I’d always thought it was tweeter at ear height but perhaps that’s because I’ve not had a three way speaker before. This changes what I thought would be the ideal height for stands.
possibly need to experiment by propping the speakers up on a couple of chairs before taking the plunge.
Not penny pinching - just don’t want to spend only to find the stand height is wrong.
Thanks.
Stuart

Acoustic centre will be different for different speakers, impossible to say for certain with the '44 as there's no relevant data. But will most likely be level with the mid range driver or somewhere in between the tweeter and the midrange.

Stands slightly too short are better than too high as you can always put some offcuts of wood or something under the stand to raise it, but making them shorter is not possible.

There's also the option of angling the speaker slightly upwards.

[MisterMoseley]

If you want to experiment, you could try a couple of bargain shop step-stools. They are about nine inches tall and take a lot of weight. Just make sure they are flat topped ones, some are slightly curved. Should be just the right height and they are pretty inert, so won't vibrate. You can get them in black. Less than a tenner a pair in the right place.

thanks Geoff

[MisterMoseley]

Acoustic centre will be different for different speakers, impossible to say for certain with the '44 as there's no relevant data. But will most likely be level with the mid range driver or somewhere in between the tweeter and the midrange.

Stands slightly too short are better than too high as you can always put some offcuts of wood or something under the stand to raise it, but making them shorter is not possible.

There's also the option of angling the speaker slightly upwards.

Thanks Martin.
I can’t think that they’re going to need more than 20cm and even if they do, I think they’re going to look a bit odd and out of proportion with the height of the TV, etc.
Although I angled my Castles up about 5*, with the 44s weighing in at 20Kg each, I think I need to be careful if I try the same thing with them.

[Macca]

lots of blu-tak betwixt stand and speaker mate. Then you can pick the speaker up and the stand comes with it, Tommy Cooper-style.

You can get open frame stands that angle up too.

[MisterMoseley]

………..and the stand comes with it, Tommy Cooper-style.


I’m normally quite quick off the mark, but even I had to stop and think about that one!
Life’s Mr Fixit - Blu-tak
Thanks